CN115447137B - A photocuring 3D printing device and printing method - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses a photo-curing 3D printing device and a printing method, comprising the following steps: the device comprises an optical fiber probe, an ink jet device, a motion platform, an optical monitoring system, an isolator and a laser light source; the optical fiber probe is connected with an optical fiber fixed on the motion platform; the ink jet device is connected with a guide pipe fixed on the motion platform; and the optical fiber on the motion platform is sequentially connected with the optical monitoring system, the isolator and the laser light source. The photocuring 3D printing device and the 3D printing method provided by the invention have the advantages of simple structure and easiness in operation; the Bessel light field generated by the optical fiber probe has high energy, small light spot, high printing precision and high efficiency.

Description

A photocuring 3D printing device and printing method

Technical Field

The present invention belongs to the field of 3D printing, and in particular relates to a light-curing 3D printing device and a printing method.

Background technique

3D printing technology is a type of rapid prototyping technology, also known as additive manufacturing, and photocuring is a more common 3D printing technology. Photocuring 3D printing is a technology that solidifies liquid photosensitive polymer glue under light and constructs objects by curing layer by layer and accumulating them.

3D printing photopolymerization technology is generally divided into two types: single-photon and two-photon excitation polymerization. Two-photon excitation can only have a high enough radiation to ensure that two photons are absorbed at the same time in the center of a highly focused laser, which places high demands on the light source. Whether the single-photon excitation process can occur depends mainly on the energy of a single photon, that is, when a substance absorbs energy that can excite a photon, the photon undergoes an energy level transition, and single-photon excitation will occur naturally, that is, the single-photon excitation energy is low, and the requirements for the light source are low.

In the existing technology, the output spot of the laser source used for 3D printing is shaped by fiber coupling so that the processed polymer material is heated evenly. The light beam output by the system is still a Gaussian beam, which does not improve the printing accuracy. In the existing 3D printing device based on fiber laser melting, the fiber assembly in the device can reciprocate in one direction, and an array of fiber head components is used to provide a melting light source, so that the light spots formed by the fiber head components are completely covered. However, each optical fiber in the device can only print a fixed area, and the flexibility is poor. An in-situ 3D printing cartilage repair device, the device divides the light emitted by the curing light source into three groups through a one-to-three fiber interface, the curing light is focused on the extrusion port of the glass container through a focusing lens, and the raw material solidifies under the irradiation of the curing light to achieve 3D printing cartilage repair. The focusing curing light device used in the device is a space lens, which is large in size and complex in device. Therefore, it is necessary to propose a 3D printing device with high printing accuracy and flexible operation.

Summary of the invention

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a light-curing 3D printing device and a printing method to solve the problems existing in the above-mentioned prior art.

To achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a light-curing 3D printing device, comprising: an optical fiber probe, an inkjet device, a motion platform, an optical monitoring system, an isolator, and a laser light source;

The optical fiber probe is connected to the optical fiber fixed on the moving platform; the inkjet device is connected to the catheter fixed on the moving platform; the optical fiber on the moving platform is connected to the optical monitoring system, the isolator and the laser light source in sequence.

Optionally, the end face of the optical fiber probe is provided with an optical fiber microstructure for compressing and shaping an incident Gaussian beam to emit a Bessel beam;

The optical fiber probe comprises an optical fiber device and a phase plate, wherein the optical fiber device is used to generate a Bessel beam; and the phase plate is used to modulate the Bessel beam to obtain an optimized Bessel beam.

Optionally, the inkjet device includes an inkjet print head and an ink cartridge, and the ink cartridge is filled with photosensitive polymer glue.

Optionally, when the moving platform moves, the optical fiber probe moves with the moving platform to any position so as to be close to or away from the printing platform, and the inkjet print head moves with the moving platform to any angle so as to complete printing.

Optionally, the optical monitoring system includes a coupler, a circulator, a photodetector and an LED light source; the optical monitoring system is used to locate the position of the processing surface.

The present invention also provides a light-curing 3D printing method, comprising the following steps:

Obtaining the three-dimensional model data and processing surface position information of the object to be printed;

Based on the three-dimensional model data and the processing surface position information, spraying photosensitive polymer glue on the processing surface layer by layer and curing it;

The optical fiber probe printing track corresponding to the three-dimensional model data is printed point by point until all the data are traversed to obtain the printed three-dimensional structure.

Optionally, the process of obtaining three-dimensional model data of the object to be printed includes obtaining a three-dimensional model and three-dimensional model data of the object to be printed, dividing the object to be printed into several layers based on the three-dimensional model data, and obtaining shape information, thickness information and optical fiber probe printing trajectory information of each layer.

Optionally, the process of obtaining the processing surface position information includes: an LED light source emits a light beam which passes through a circulator and a coupler into the optical fiber, and is irradiated onto the printing platform through a fiber optic probe; the return light beam passes through the coupler and circulator and is reflected into a photodetector for imaging, thereby obtaining the processing surface position information.

Optionally, the process of spraying the photosensitive polymer glue layer by layer on the processing surface includes controlling the inkjet print head on the motion platform to spray the photosensitive polymer glue layer by layer on the processing surface in a sequence from a bottom layer to a top layer.

Optionally, before printing the optical fiber probe printing track corresponding to the three-dimensional model data point by point, the method further includes: turning on a laser light source, and the light emitted by the laser light source enters the optical fiber and the optical fiber probe through an isolator and a coupler, and emits Bessel light; based on the imaging information of the optical monitoring system, the angle threshold and the distance threshold are preset, the optical fiber probe on the motion platform is moved, and the sprayed photosensitive polymer glue is cured;

The optical monitoring system includes a coupler, a circulator, a photodetector and an LED light source.

The technical effects of the present invention are:

The present invention provides a light-curing 3D printing device and a 3D printing method, which have a simple structure and are easy to operate. The Bessel light field generated by the optical fiber probe has high energy, a small light spot, high printing accuracy and high efficiency. In addition, the combination of the optical fiber probe and the motion platform also enables the device to have a high spatial degree of freedom.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings constituting a part of the present application are used to provide a further understanding of the present application. The illustrative embodiments and descriptions of the present application are used to explain the present application and do not constitute an improper limitation on the present application. In the drawings:

FIG1 is a schematic structural diagram of a 3D printing device in an embodiment of the present invention;

Among them, 1-fiber probe, 2-optical fiber, 3-inkjet print head, 4-catheter, 5-ink cartridge, 6-motion platform, 7-coupler, 8-circulator, 9-photodetector, 10-LED light source, 11-isolator, 12-laser light source, 13-printing platform;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a 3D printing method in an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed ways

It should be noted that, in the absence of conflict, the embodiments and features in the embodiments of the present application can be combined with each other. The present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and in combination with the embodiments.

It should be noted that the steps shown in the flowcharts of the accompanying drawings can be executed in a computer system such as a set of computer executable instructions, and that, although a logical order is shown in the flowcharts, in some cases, the steps shown or described can be executed in an order different from that shown here.

Embodiment 1

As shown in FIG1 , a photocuring 3D printing device is provided in this embodiment, including: an optical fiber probe 1, an optical fiber 2, an inkjet print head 3, a catheter 4, an ink cartridge 5, a motion platform 6, a coupler 7, a circulator 8, a photodetector 9, an LED light source 10, an isolator 11, a laser light source 12 and a printing platform 13.

The end face of the optical fiber probe 1 is an optical fiber microstructure. When a Gaussian beam is incident, a Bessel beam is emitted after being shaped by the optical fiber probe 1, thereby achieving high-efficiency and high-precision 3D printing.

In this embodiment, the optical fiber probe 1 is formed by fusing the optical fiber microstructure on the end face of the optical fiber, so that the incident Gaussian beam can be compressed by the optical microstructure and then output as a Bessel beam. Since the output Bessel beam light field carries a large amount of energy, it has non-diffraction characteristics and self-repairing characteristics within a certain propagation distance, which greatly improves the accuracy and efficiency of 3D printing.

The optical fiber probe 1 and the inkjet print head 3 are mounted on the motion platform 6. The motion platform 6 drives the optical fiber probe 1 and the inkjet print head 3 to move to any position and print at any angle within the printing range.

The coupler 7, circulator 8, photodetector 9 and LED light source 10 constitute an optical monitoring system, wherein the light beam emitted by the LED light source 10 enters the optical fiber 2 through the circulator 8 and the coupler 7, and is irradiated onto the printing platform 13 through the optical fiber probe 1. The reflected light enters the photodetector 9 through the coupler 7 and the circulator 8, and the position of the processing surface can be accurately located.

The inkjet device includes an inkjet print head 3 and an ink cartridge 5, which are connected via a conduit 4 installed on a motion platform 6. Controlling the movement of the motion platform and switching the inkjet device can spray photosensitive polymer glue layer by layer on the printing platform 13.

The light beam emitted by the laser light source 12 enters the optical fiber 2 through the isolator 11 and the coupler 7 and then is emitted after passing through the optical fiber probe 1 .

The device controls the switch of the laser light source 12 and the motion platform 6, and scans point by point with the contour information of the layered section of the software model as the trajectory, so that the photosensitive polymer glue in the scanned area undergoes a photopolymerization reaction and solidifies, thereby forming a thin layer section. The printing process relies on the emitted Bessel light beam to selectively solidify the photosensitive polymer glue, and 3D printing is achieved by printing layer by layer.

As shown in FIG. 2 , this embodiment further provides a light-curing 3D printing method, comprising the following steps:

Step 1: Obtain the 3D model data of the object to be printed. Specifically, design the physical model of the object to be printed through software, and obtain the coordinate data of each point in the 3D model. According to the 3D model data of the object to be printed, divide the object to be printed into several layers, determine the shape and thickness of each layer and the printing trajectory of the optical fiber probe. Put the photosensitive polymer glue into the ink cartridge 5 of the light-curing 3D printing system and start the system;

Step 2: Turn on the LED light source 10. The light beam emitted by the LED light source 10 enters the optical fiber 2 through the circulator 8 and the coupler 7, and is irradiated onto the printing platform 13 through the optical fiber probe 1. The reflected light enters the photodetector 9 through the coupler 7 and the circulator 8, and the position of the processing surface can be accurately located.

Step 3: Turn on the inkjet device switch, control the position and angle of the motion platform 6 according to the model data and the processing surface position information, spray the photosensitive polymer glue layer by layer on the processing surface in the direction from the bottom layer to the top layer, and turn off the inkjet device switch after the spraying of the photosensitive polymer glue of the corresponding slice is completed. Specifically, the light-curing 3D printing system uses the motion platform 6 to move the inkjet print head 3, and sprays the photosensitive polymer glue in the ink cartridge 5 on the printing platform 13 according to the shape and thickness of each slice layer designed by the model software;

Step 4: Turn on the laser light source 12. The light beam emitted by the laser light source 12 enters the optical fiber 2 through the isolator 11 and the coupler 7, and emits Bessel light through the optical fiber probe 1. According to the model and printing trajectory designed by the model software, the optical fiber probe 1 is moved by the motion platform 6, and the photosensitive polymer glue is cured at a suitable angle and distance;

Step 5: The light-curing 3D printing system prints the model in a layer-by-layer manner, wherein the shape of each slice is designed by the model software, and the Bessel light output by the optical fiber probe 1 solidifies the photosensitive polymer glue of each layer point by point, and prints point by point according to the trajectory corresponding to the written model data until the structure corresponding to the layer is printed and the laser light source is turned off;

Step 6: Move the positions of the fiber optic probe 1 and the inkjet print head 3 through the motion platform 6, repeat steps 3 and 4 until all the data in the database are traversed and the three-dimensional structure is prepared, reset the motion platform, take out the printed product, and shut down the system.

The above is only a preferred specific implementation of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily thought of by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present application should be included in the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims (1)

1. A photo-curing 3D printing device, comprising: the device comprises an optical fiber probe (1), an ink jet device, a motion platform (6), an optical monitoring system, an isolator (11) and a laser light source (12);

The optical fiber probe (1) is connected with an optical fiber (2) fixed on the motion platform (6); the ink jet device is connected with a guide pipe (4) fixed on the moving platform (6); the optical fiber (2) on the motion platform (6) is sequentially connected with the optical monitoring system, the isolator (11) and the laser light source (12);

the end face of the optical fiber probe (1) is provided with an optical fiber microstructure and is used for compressing and shaping an incident Gaussian beam and then emitting a Bessel beam;

The optical fiber probe (1) comprises an optical fiber device and a phase plate, wherein the optical fiber device is used for generating a Bessel beam; the phase plate is used for modulating the Bezier light beam to obtain an optimized Bezier light beam;

When the motion platform (6) moves, the optical fiber probe (1) moves along with the motion platform (6) at any position so as to be close to or far away from the printing platform (13), and the ink-jet printing head (3) moves along with the motion platform (6) at any angle so as to finish printing;

The optical monitoring system comprises a coupler (7), a circulator (8), a photoelectric detector (9) and an LED light source (10); the optical monitoring system is used for positioning the position of the processing surface;

The ink-jet device comprises an ink-jet printing head (3) and an ink box (5), wherein photosensitive polymer glue is filled in the ink box (5); the printing method of the photo-curing 3D printing device comprises the following steps:

Acquiring three-dimensional model data and processing surface position information of an object to be printed;

spraying photosensitive polymer glue layer by layer on the processing surface based on the three-dimensional model data and the processing surface position information, and curing;

The process for acquiring the processing surface position information comprises the steps that light beams emitted by an LED light source (10) enter an optical fiber (2) through a circulator (8) and a coupler (7), the light beams are irradiated onto a printing platform (13) through an optical fiber probe (1), and returned light beams are reflected into a photoelectric detector (9) for imaging after passing through the coupler (7) and the circulator (8), so that the processing surface position information is acquired;

Performing point-by-point printing on the printing track of the optical fiber probe (1) corresponding to the three-dimensional model data until all the data are traversed, and obtaining a printed three-dimensional structure;

the process for obtaining the three-dimensional model data of the object to be printed comprises the steps of obtaining a three-dimensional model of the object to be printed and the three-dimensional model data, dividing the object to be printed into a plurality of layers based on the three-dimensional model data, and obtaining shape information, thickness information and printing track information of an optical fiber probe (1) of each layer;

The process of spraying the photosensitive polymer adhesive layer by layer on the processing surface comprises the steps of controlling an ink-jet printing head (3) on a motion platform (6) to spray the photosensitive polymer adhesive layer by layer on the processing surface according to the sequence from the bottom layer to the top layer;

Before the point-by-point printing of the printing track of the optical fiber probe (1) corresponding to the three-dimensional model data is carried out, a laser light source (12) is turned on, and light emitted by the laser light source (12) enters an optical fiber (2) and the optical fiber probe (1) through an isolator (11) and a coupler (7) to emit Bessel light; based on imaging information of an optical monitoring system, presetting an angle threshold value and a distance threshold value, moving an optical fiber probe (1) on a motion platform (6), and curing the sprayed photosensitive polymer adhesive;

the optical monitoring system comprises a coupler (7), a circulator (8), a photoelectric detector (9) and an LED light source (10).